“Let us build a house where all are named,
Their songs and visions heard
And loved and treasured, taught and claimed
As words within the Word…”
“All are Welcome,” text by Marty Haugen
©1994, GIA Publications, Inc.
Opening Song
What is the first thing we do each week when we gather for worship? We sing. Whether we call it the Opening Hymn, the Gathering Song, or the Processional, the first song of the liturgy has three main purposes (paraphrased from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, #47):
· To open the celebration and foster our unity as a people worshiping together,
· To begin to awaken us to the themes and images of the liturgy or season, and
· To accompany the presider and ministers as they process into the church.
If we reduce the opening song to that third reason, as simply “traveling music” for the liturgical ministers in procession, we’ve missed the point! Look at the first reason given in the Instruction: we sing so that we may be united in celebration. That is why, even if the choir may sing a prelude prior to the liturgy , the opening song is always a song intended for the entire assembly to sing—and whenever possible, it is something most of know well and can sing out fully and with strength.
If we look a little deeper (and if the music ministers are doing our jobs well!) and listen to the texts we sing in the opening song—in all the songs, really!—we should be able to already have some idea of where the readings and prayers of the day will take us. During Ordinary Time, which we are now journeying through, the songs will most often have themes of gathering and welcome, unity and praise and trust in our loving God. During the seasons of Advent and Lent, the opening songs will often be more subdued, helping quiet our souls into a place of expectant preparation. During Christmas and Easter seasons, these songs will be even more explosively joyful…
As St. Augustine said, “You should sing as wayfarers do—sing, but continue the journey...Sing to make your journey more enjoyable. Sing...but keep on going!”
...next week: Acclamations! (Gloria, Sanctus, and more…)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Music Ministry Series: Part I
“I sing because I’m happy,
And I sing because I’m free.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”
From an African-American hymn, text by Civilla Martin; music by Charles Gabriel
Why do we sing?
Singing is a fundamental, natural human activity. During the time when I taught music in an elementary school, I remember one day asking the kindergarten class, “Who in here is a good singer?” Every single child raised his or her hand. My curiosity piqued, I asked the same question of the fourth graders: about half the hands went up, many haltingly or as though they weren’t sure. I asked the seventh grade. The only hand that went up was from a boy wanting to be excused to go to the washroom (for the second time that class).
We all start life as singers, with a natural joy in raising up our voices together or as individuals, but somewhere along the way we begin to get the message that singing is only for the very special, or the extremely gifted, or the most talented among us. We begin to believe that the only people who should sing are those who are “good enough” do to it professionally.
The Church has a different vision:
“God has bestowed upon his people the gift of song. God dwells within each human person, in the place where music takes its source. Indeed, God, the giver of song, is present whenever his people sing his praises. A cry from deep within our being, music is a way for God to lead us to the realm of higher things. As St. Augustine says, “Singing is for the one who loves.” Music is therefore a sign of God’s love for us and of our love for him. In this sense, it is very personal. But unless music sounds, it is not music, and whenever it sounds, it is accessible to others. By its very nature song has both an individual and a communal dimension. Thus, it is no wonder that singing together in church expresses so well the sacramental presence of God to his people...The quality of our participation in such sung praise comes less from our vocal ability than from the desire of our hearts to sing together of our love for God. ”
This quote is taken from the opening paragraphs of the U.S. Bishops’ document “Sing to the Lord,” (the full text can be found at www.usccb.org/liturgy/SingToTheLord.pdf). It gives a beautiful image for our gathered song and makes it a true metaphor of our gathering: we gather, each of us, individuals but united. Together we raise up whatever gifts we have, however imperfect they are...and in the raising, and in the unity and love of the community, they become beauty. Ask anyone in the music ministry—your parish choirs are filled with people who sing not because they feel themselves particularly worthy, but because they Love. And every person in the church who picks up a hymnal and raises their voice—even a little—contributes to the beauty of the whole. God is present in our gathering, in our song, in our worship together.
And I sing because I’m free.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”
From an African-American hymn, text by Civilla Martin; music by Charles Gabriel
Why do we sing?
Singing is a fundamental, natural human activity. During the time when I taught music in an elementary school, I remember one day asking the kindergarten class, “Who in here is a good singer?” Every single child raised his or her hand. My curiosity piqued, I asked the same question of the fourth graders: about half the hands went up, many haltingly or as though they weren’t sure. I asked the seventh grade. The only hand that went up was from a boy wanting to be excused to go to the washroom (for the second time that class).
We all start life as singers, with a natural joy in raising up our voices together or as individuals, but somewhere along the way we begin to get the message that singing is only for the very special, or the extremely gifted, or the most talented among us. We begin to believe that the only people who should sing are those who are “good enough” do to it professionally.
The Church has a different vision:
“God has bestowed upon his people the gift of song. God dwells within each human person, in the place where music takes its source. Indeed, God, the giver of song, is present whenever his people sing his praises. A cry from deep within our being, music is a way for God to lead us to the realm of higher things. As St. Augustine says, “Singing is for the one who loves.” Music is therefore a sign of God’s love for us and of our love for him. In this sense, it is very personal. But unless music sounds, it is not music, and whenever it sounds, it is accessible to others. By its very nature song has both an individual and a communal dimension. Thus, it is no wonder that singing together in church expresses so well the sacramental presence of God to his people...The quality of our participation in such sung praise comes less from our vocal ability than from the desire of our hearts to sing together of our love for God. ”
This quote is taken from the opening paragraphs of the U.S. Bishops’ document “Sing to the Lord,” (the full text can be found at www.usccb.org/liturgy/SingToTheLord.pdf). It gives a beautiful image for our gathered song and makes it a true metaphor of our gathering: we gather, each of us, individuals but united. Together we raise up whatever gifts we have, however imperfect they are...and in the raising, and in the unity and love of the community, they become beauty. Ask anyone in the music ministry—your parish choirs are filled with people who sing not because they feel themselves particularly worthy, but because they Love. And every person in the church who picks up a hymnal and raises their voice—even a little—contributes to the beauty of the whole. God is present in our gathering, in our song, in our worship together.
Music Ministry Series: Intro
In case you’ve ever wondered...
Shortly after Fr. David Dowdle came to St. John of the Cross, he offered parishioners the opportunity to “Ask the Pastor” any questions they had about the church, the parish, our worship, and so forth. A surprising number of the questions that came in revolved around the large area of music in worship—questions about why we sing, what we sing, who sings, when we sing—the whole gamut.
Therefore we’ve decided to open up a little section of the bulletin each week for news and information regarding both the specifics of this parish’s music ministry and the whole idea of music ministry in general. If you have a question about the things we do in the music ministry, please let us know, and we’ll try to get it answered!
In the meantime, we will try to address some of the generalities of music ministry and sung prayer, going back to the sources of our faith and the documents of the Church, particularly the writings from the Second Vatican Council. Drawing on our rich heritage and tradition as Church, we will take a look at what we do musically, why we do it, and how music shapes our worship—hopefully in an interesting and engaging way! Enjoy!
Peace,
Jennifer Kerr Budziak
Shortly after Fr. David Dowdle came to St. John of the Cross, he offered parishioners the opportunity to “Ask the Pastor” any questions they had about the church, the parish, our worship, and so forth. A surprising number of the questions that came in revolved around the large area of music in worship—questions about why we sing, what we sing, who sings, when we sing—the whole gamut.
Therefore we’ve decided to open up a little section of the bulletin each week for news and information regarding both the specifics of this parish’s music ministry and the whole idea of music ministry in general. If you have a question about the things we do in the music ministry, please let us know, and we’ll try to get it answered!
In the meantime, we will try to address some of the generalities of music ministry and sung prayer, going back to the sources of our faith and the documents of the Church, particularly the writings from the Second Vatican Council. Drawing on our rich heritage and tradition as Church, we will take a look at what we do musically, why we do it, and how music shapes our worship—hopefully in an interesting and engaging way! Enjoy!
Peace,
Jennifer Kerr Budziak
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
New US Bishops Document on Music
Sing to the Lord, the new incarnation of "Music in Catholic Worship" (only much longer and more thorough!) is up on the USCCB website:
http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/SingToTheLord.pdf
I have printed it and started to read the final draft, but I haven't gotten far yet. It's Advent, after all...
peace,
Jennifer
http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/SingToTheLord.pdf
I have printed it and started to read the final draft, but I haven't gotten far yet. It's Advent, after all...
peace,
Jennifer
Soul of Genius
Neither a lofty degree of intelligence
nor imagination nor both together
go to the making of genius.
Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.
--W. A. Mozart
Clearly my attempts at a weekly blog about why and how music is planned fell by the wayside right about at the moment the choral/liturgical season got busy. But I will keep trying, at least in little bits...
The 10:45 choir will be leading a Lessons and Carols service for Advent, this coming Sunday evening at 7pm. For the first time, although this is our third or fourth year, we've actually had adequate publicity and announcements and such, so I actually have hope in a decent crowd...
Advent Lessons and Carols
Sunday, December 9, 2007 7:00pm
Processional: Prepare the Way of the Lord (Taizé) (Gather Comp. 330)
Greeting
Opening Prayer (chanted) (All are seated)
First Lesson: Genesis 3:8-15
Choir: Lo, How a Rose (Gather Comp. 373) (2 verses)
My mother, fifty-odd years out of Catholic school, can still sing the alto part to this piece...I know there are tons of different arrangements of it out there, but I can't imagine ever moving from this one.
Carol: Creator of the Stars of Night (Gather Comp. 334) (4 verses)
Second Lesson: Isaiah 9:1-6
Choir: Crown Him King of Kings (Bach)
Our old noisy Bach friend--huge, happy, unapologetic, and the choir sounds great on it.
Carol: O Come, Divine Messiah (Gather Comp. 333)
Third Lesson: Isaiah 40:1-11
Choir: Prepare Ye (Robinson)
Awesome little piece, sort of jazzy-gospel-but-still-definitely-white-folks-singing in character, at least the way we do it--but it sounds Right this way. I heard it first at Ascension, and I loved it enough to order it 5 years later for this group. Sort of a lazy but implacable groove, with a kick-tail tenor solo on which Jeff completely wails...
Fourth Lesson: Haggai 2:6-9
Choir: Like those who watch for midnight’s hour (Bach) (Seven Lenten Chorales, “Out of the Depths,” vs 2)
Carol: The King Shall Come (Gather Comp. 347) (all verses)
Fifth Lesson: Isaiah 7:10-15
Carol: Maranatha, Lord Messiah (GC 324) (verses 1, 5, 6, 7)
Sixth Lesson: Baruch 4:36-5:9
Choir: Come, O Just One (Trapp)
My old friend Lynn Trapp--he's a man, by the way--did this lovely setting. Far more "Cathedral" than we usually are, very formal and Grand-sounding, but the choir's really rising to the occasion. Great fun.
Carol: People, Look East! (Gather Comp. 337) (all verses)
Gospel Acclamation: Advent Gospel Acclamations (verse for Advent IV Cycle A)
Seventh Lesson (The Gospel): Luke 1:26-35, 38 (chanted by Fr. Ken)
Choir: No Wind at the Window (Bell/Breedlove)
I seldom get to compose any more; I started this setting 2 years ago and finally actually completed it this year. It's a really nice strophic text about the Annunciation--vintage John Bell in style and syntax, which I happen to love--set to a haunting Gaelic (Scottish?) melody. I set it for SATB choir, and it's going well, although we've barely rehearsed it and we have to "perform" it this Sunday...I'm slightly petrified.
Intercessions: GC 277 (cantor and choir)
Closing Prayer
Closing Hymn: O Come, Emmanuel (Gather Comp. 323) (verses 1-4)
Y'all come on Sunday, hear?
peace,
Jennifer
nor imagination nor both together
go to the making of genius.
Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.
--W. A. Mozart
Clearly my attempts at a weekly blog about why and how music is planned fell by the wayside right about at the moment the choral/liturgical season got busy. But I will keep trying, at least in little bits...
The 10:45 choir will be leading a Lessons and Carols service for Advent, this coming Sunday evening at 7pm. For the first time, although this is our third or fourth year, we've actually had adequate publicity and announcements and such, so I actually have hope in a decent crowd...
Advent Lessons and Carols
Sunday, December 9, 2007 7:00pm
Processional: Prepare the Way of the Lord (Taizé) (Gather Comp. 330)
Greeting
Opening Prayer (chanted) (All are seated)
First Lesson: Genesis 3:8-15
Choir: Lo, How a Rose (Gather Comp. 373) (2 verses)
My mother, fifty-odd years out of Catholic school, can still sing the alto part to this piece...I know there are tons of different arrangements of it out there, but I can't imagine ever moving from this one.
Carol: Creator of the Stars of Night (Gather Comp. 334) (4 verses)
Second Lesson: Isaiah 9:1-6
Choir: Crown Him King of Kings (Bach)
Our old noisy Bach friend--huge, happy, unapologetic, and the choir sounds great on it.
Carol: O Come, Divine Messiah (Gather Comp. 333)
Third Lesson: Isaiah 40:1-11
Choir: Prepare Ye (Robinson)
Awesome little piece, sort of jazzy-gospel-but-still-definitely-white-folks-singing in character, at least the way we do it--but it sounds Right this way. I heard it first at Ascension, and I loved it enough to order it 5 years later for this group. Sort of a lazy but implacable groove, with a kick-tail tenor solo on which Jeff completely wails...
Fourth Lesson: Haggai 2:6-9
Choir: Like those who watch for midnight’s hour (Bach) (Seven Lenten Chorales, “Out of the Depths,” vs 2)
Carol: The King Shall Come (Gather Comp. 347) (all verses)
Fifth Lesson: Isaiah 7:10-15
Carol: Maranatha, Lord Messiah (GC 324) (verses 1, 5, 6, 7)
Sixth Lesson: Baruch 4:36-5:9
Choir: Come, O Just One (Trapp)
My old friend Lynn Trapp--he's a man, by the way--did this lovely setting. Far more "Cathedral" than we usually are, very formal and Grand-sounding, but the choir's really rising to the occasion. Great fun.
Carol: People, Look East! (Gather Comp. 337) (all verses)
Gospel Acclamation: Advent Gospel Acclamations (verse for Advent IV Cycle A)
Seventh Lesson (The Gospel): Luke 1:26-35, 38 (chanted by Fr. Ken)
Choir: No Wind at the Window (Bell/Breedlove)
I seldom get to compose any more; I started this setting 2 years ago and finally actually completed it this year. It's a really nice strophic text about the Annunciation--vintage John Bell in style and syntax, which I happen to love--set to a haunting Gaelic (Scottish?) melody. I set it for SATB choir, and it's going well, although we've barely rehearsed it and we have to "perform" it this Sunday...I'm slightly petrified.
Intercessions: GC 277 (cantor and choir)
Closing Prayer
Closing Hymn: O Come, Emmanuel (Gather Comp. 323) (verses 1-4)
Y'all come on Sunday, hear?
peace,
Jennifer
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Choir Director Humor
I love this little piece...if it is under copyright or anyone who reads this knows its source, I'd love to know...
A CHORISTER'S GUIDE TO KEEPING CONDUCTORS IN LINE
1. Never be satisfied with the starting pitch. If the conductor uses a pitch-pipe, make known your preference for pitches from the piano, and vice-versa.
2. Complain about the temperature of the rehearsal room, the lighting, crowded space, or a draft. It is best to do this when the conductor is under pressure.
3. Bury your head into the music just before the cues.
4. Ask for a re-audition or seating change. Ask often. Give the impression you are about to quit. Let the conductor know your are there as a personal favor.
5. Loudly clear your throat during pauses. (Tenors are trained to do this from birth.) Quiet instrumental interludes are a good chance to blow your nose.
6. Wait until well into a rehearsal before letting the conductor know that you do not have the music.
7. Look at your watch frequently. Shake it in disbelief occasionally.
8. Find an excuse to leave the rehearsal fifteen minutes early so that others will become restless and start to fidget.
9. Tell the conductor, "I can't find the beat." Conductors are always sensitive about their "stick technique," so challenge it frequently.
10. If your articulation differs from that of others, stick to your guns. Do not ask the conductor which is correct until backstage just before the concert.
(In other words, make every effort to take the attention away from the podium and put it on you, where it belongs.)
A CHORISTER'S GUIDE TO KEEPING CONDUCTORS IN LINE
1. Never be satisfied with the starting pitch. If the conductor uses a pitch-pipe, make known your preference for pitches from the piano, and vice-versa.
2. Complain about the temperature of the rehearsal room, the lighting, crowded space, or a draft. It is best to do this when the conductor is under pressure.
3. Bury your head into the music just before the cues.
4. Ask for a re-audition or seating change. Ask often. Give the impression you are about to quit. Let the conductor know your are there as a personal favor.
5. Loudly clear your throat during pauses. (Tenors are trained to do this from birth.) Quiet instrumental interludes are a good chance to blow your nose.
6. Wait until well into a rehearsal before letting the conductor know that you do not have the music.
7. Look at your watch frequently. Shake it in disbelief occasionally.
8. Find an excuse to leave the rehearsal fifteen minutes early so that others will become restless and start to fidget.
9. Tell the conductor, "I can't find the beat." Conductors are always sensitive about their "stick technique," so challenge it frequently.
10. If your articulation differs from that of others, stick to your guns. Do not ask the conductor which is correct until backstage just before the concert.
(In other words, make every effort to take the attention away from the podium and put it on you, where it belongs.)
Thursday, November 1, 2007
O Death, where is thy sting?
The other day my son came home from school, excited because that day his class had gotten to paint “sugar skulls.” Though I was already familiar with the custom, I asked him why they were painting these skulls: “For the Day of the Dead,” he said. “What is the Day of the Dead?” I asked him: “It’s the day when we can remember all our loving ones [sic] who have died and feel them close to us again.”
A child’s simplicity. The celebration of All Saints and All Souls, through the understanding of a five-year-old.
Our family lives in Berwyn, a suburb where the Latino population is abundant and thriving. "El Dia de los Muertos,” the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican cultural celebration which takes place each year from the Eve of All Saints (or All Hallows, i.e. Halloween) through All Souls’ Day. Though it focuses on our memories of those who have died, the focus is on joy and celebration—gifts are given, small holy places with trinkets and photos of the deceased are erected in homes, and images of skeletons and deaths-heads abound—in toys, in candy, in bread, in bright colors, in odd and paradoxical places.
To many of us from a Western European cultural background, this may seem inappropriate, almost morbid...but some years ago I spoke with some deeply faithful Mexican friends about this subject, and their answer was simple and profound: to make a piece of sugar candy or sweet bread in the shape of a skull and eat it, or to tell jokes and make silly toys out of the symbols of death, is to strip death of its power and mock its hold over us: “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?”
Which quote, of course, takes me directly to the Brahms German Requiem, in my opinion probably the single most glorious piece of choral music ever written, an exquisite melding of music and text and subliminal theology...I just adore it. The 6th movement starts out sort of tentatively and solemnly, and eventually bursts out into this glorious in-your-face challenge to death and hell--a grand and joyous explosion of excessive musical abundance crying out, "Tod! Tod! Wo ist dein Sieg?"...and then it dances off into a fugue that's at once merry and solemn, although a lot of conductors tend to skip the merry and take what is in my opinion a rather lugubrious approach to what I believe should be an extension of the wild cannot-be-denied-or-silenced joyful "giving of the (musical) bird" to all that we once feared and dreaded... a holy bacchanal, praising the God who strips even death of its strength, in which the participants become drunk not on bad tequila or cheap watery American beer but on the very essence of Life and its incredible joyous power...
Amazing music. St. Johannes, pray for us.
And while we're at it...St. Johann Sebastian, pray for us. St. Wolfgang Amadeus, pray for us. St. Thomas Stearns Eliot, pray for us. St. Joseph Bernadin, pray for us. St. Madeleine of Crosswicks, pray for us...
All holy men and women, pray for us.
peace,
Jennifer
A child’s simplicity. The celebration of All Saints and All Souls, through the understanding of a five-year-old.
Our family lives in Berwyn, a suburb where the Latino population is abundant and thriving. "El Dia de los Muertos,” the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican cultural celebration which takes place each year from the Eve of All Saints (or All Hallows, i.e. Halloween) through All Souls’ Day. Though it focuses on our memories of those who have died, the focus is on joy and celebration—gifts are given, small holy places with trinkets and photos of the deceased are erected in homes, and images of skeletons and deaths-heads abound—in toys, in candy, in bread, in bright colors, in odd and paradoxical places.
To many of us from a Western European cultural background, this may seem inappropriate, almost morbid...but some years ago I spoke with some deeply faithful Mexican friends about this subject, and their answer was simple and profound: to make a piece of sugar candy or sweet bread in the shape of a skull and eat it, or to tell jokes and make silly toys out of the symbols of death, is to strip death of its power and mock its hold over us: “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?”
Which quote, of course, takes me directly to the Brahms German Requiem, in my opinion probably the single most glorious piece of choral music ever written, an exquisite melding of music and text and subliminal theology...I just adore it. The 6th movement starts out sort of tentatively and solemnly, and eventually bursts out into this glorious in-your-face challenge to death and hell--a grand and joyous explosion of excessive musical abundance crying out, "Tod! Tod! Wo ist dein Sieg?"...and then it dances off into a fugue that's at once merry and solemn, although a lot of conductors tend to skip the merry and take what is in my opinion a rather lugubrious approach to what I believe should be an extension of the wild cannot-be-denied-or-silenced joyful "giving of the (musical) bird" to all that we once feared and dreaded... a holy bacchanal, praising the God who strips even death of its strength, in which the participants become drunk not on bad tequila or cheap watery American beer but on the very essence of Life and its incredible joyous power...
Amazing music. St. Johannes, pray for us.
And while we're at it...St. Johann Sebastian, pray for us. St. Wolfgang Amadeus, pray for us. St. Thomas Stearns Eliot, pray for us. St. Joseph Bernadin, pray for us. St. Madeleine of Crosswicks, pray for us...
All holy men and women, pray for us.
peace,
Jennifer
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